The Walt Disney Company stated on Monday that all theatrical releases in Russia, including “Turning Red,” which opens on March 11, will be paused.
“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming ‘Turning Red’ from Pixar,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation. In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.”
Russia has a minimal box office. According to IMDBpro, a film industry database, Free Guy was Disney’s top release there last year. It earned $11.2 million in Russia, accounting for nearly 3% of its total revenue of $331.5 million.
According to the Motion Picture Association, Russia was the No. 9 market for Hollywood outside of the United States prior to the outbreak. In 2019, ticket revenues for American-made films in Russia were almost $900 million. Hollywood’s sales in China, the world’s largest overseas market, totaled $9.3 billion in 2019.
The Motion Picture Association, which represents Netflix, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. around the world, issued a statement Monday night criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“On behalf of our member companies, who lead the film, TV and streaming industry, we express our strongest support for Ukraine’s vibrant creative community who, like all people, deserve to live and work peacefully.”